Pamphlet of Rigas Feraios
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The Pamphlet of Rigas Feraios is a large
chalcography Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...
(45 × 29 cm) printed in Vienna in 1797 by Rigas Feraios. It depicts a portrait of Alexander the Great framed by war scenes and portraits of his generals. The etching was incised by François Müller, who cooperated with Rigas for his cartographic work which he published the same year: Rigas' '' Map of Greece'' (1797), the ''
New Map of Wallachia and part of Transylvania The New Map of Wallachia is one of the maps of the Danubian Principalities which were printed by Rigas Feraios in 1797 in Vienna, engraved by Franz Müller who was also Rigas' partner in other cartographic works. The other is the General Map of ...
'' (1797) and the '' General Map of Moldavia'' (1797). It was released in 1200 copies from the printing press of Nitsch. One of the two copies that have been discovered in Greece is displayed in the
National Historical Museum of Greece The Old Parliament House ( el, Μέγαρο της Παλαιάς Βουλής, ''Paleá Voulí'') at Stadiou Street in Athens, housed the Greek Parliament between 1875 and 1935. It now houses the country's National Historical Museum. History ...
.


Description

The pamphlet is divided into two parts: the figurative and the explanatory. The iconographic representation occupies the largest part of the picture, while she is repeated in reduction in the left corner. The head of Alexander the Great (his identity is given in the explanatory) prevails in the center. He has long hair, wears a helmet decorated with winged dragon tail to the side and human face at the cornice, while the breastplate is decorated with a human figure. The portrait is surrounded by an octagonal frame and is divided in 8 unequal trapezoidal panels. In the four smaller ones, the heads of his most notable generals are illustrated and their names are written in capital letters:
Seleucus Seleucus may refer to: Monarchs and other people related to the Seleucid Empire * Seleucus I Nicator (Satrap 311–305 BC, King 305 BC–281 BC), son of Antiochus and founder of the Seleucid Empire * Seleucus II Callinicus (246–225 BC) * Sele ...
,
Antigonus Antigonus or Antigonos ( grc, Ἀντίγονος), a Greek name meaning "comparable to his father" or "worthy of his father", may refer to: Rulers * Three Macedonian kings of the Antigonid dynasty that succeeded Alexander the Great: ** Antigon ...
, Cassander and Ptolemy. In the larger horizontal panels, four multifaceted scenes are pictured from the expedition against the Persians: 1. The triumphal entry of Alexander into
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
, 2. The fleeing of Persians at Granicus River, 3. The defeat of Darius, 4. The family of the defeated king at the feet of Alexander. The explanatory text is bilingual ( Greek and
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
) and written in two columns. It is also divided in 3 sections which are distinguished by 3 separate paragraphs at the upper part of the page. The first section is referred to the subject of the picture and the sources that its creator has used. The second section is referred to the personality of Alexander with a short and comprehensive biographical text. The third section is the colophon and declares the creator of the picture and the aim of the publication.


Archetype

The existence of the ancient seal which was used as an archetype, as Rigas mentions in the explanatory text, is not disputed but it has been proved that he copies with some variations, an etching that he detected during his stay in Vienna. It is about the picture that the engraver Salomon Kleiner created and Joseph de France (general director of the imperial treasury of the imperial gallery and the monetary collections) published in 1749 in Vienna. The two etchings show great similarities in the portraits of Alexander the Great and his generals, while Rigas adds to the explanatory text historical information for the action of Alexander. The rest of the scenes are different because their copy was difficult due to their complex composition. Archetypes of these two etchings are the paintings of the French painter Charles Le Brun, whose copy was quite popular in Europe during 17th and 18th century.


Rigas' goals and the pamphlet's interpretation

As Rigas stated to the Austrian authorities, the publication of the pamphlet aimed to the awakening of Greek’s national consciousness. The historical information that he quotes, aim to the national uplift of the enslaved and to the connection with the glorious ancient past, just like the rest of Riga’s publications. The short and comprehensive biography of Alexander makes him a legendary hero who survived through the centuries and became an example to follow. Through his legendary accomplishments becomes the timeless symbol of national liberation in Modern Greek consciousness. The Ottoman conquerors are identified with the Persians who should be repelled same way as the Macedonian king did. Rigas published this portrait for one more reason which is detected to the colophon of the picture. The phrase “for the Greeks and the Philhellenes” makes it clear that the enslaved Greeks must rise up and claim their independence, mainly counting on the help of France, since during this period the Great Napoleon promises the liberation of the Greeks.


Impact and effects of the pamphlet

The pamphlet accomplished the establishment of the portrait of Alexander the Great as the “authentic” hero pattern. Until the late 19th century, this portrait is often repeated with some variations, while its spread contributed to the creation of the idealized warrior hero pattern. The pamphlet is repeated as frontispiece to the version of
Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
's “Sozomena”, which was edited by
Neophytos Doukas Neophytos Doukas or Dukas ( el, Νεόφυτος Δούκας; 1760 – 1 January 1845) was a Greek priest and scholar, author of many books and translations from ancient Greek works, and one of the most important personalities of the modern Greek ...
and was published in 1809 in Vienna. In 1816 the figure of Alexander the Great, as Rigas Velestinlis designed it, adorned the figurehead on
Andreas Miaoulis Andreas Vokos, better known by his nickname Miaoulis ( el, Ανδρέας Βώκος Μιαούλης; 1765 – 24 June 1835), was a Greek revolutionary, admiral, and politician who commanded Greek naval forces during the Greek War of Indepe ...
ship, ''Aris'' (Mars). After the Greek Revolution the figure of Alexander the Great was the inspiration to artists or writers who wanted to stimulate the self-knowledge of the Greeks with their works. A good example is the release of an etching in 1849 in Athens which was created by the lithographer Ioannis Koronaios. The pamphlet of Alexander the Great and all the following allegoric pictures intended to the awakening of the Greek consciousness and they can be included in the large category of images of national purpose. This name was established on the occasion of the national purpose paintings that were released in 1940 from the School of Fine Arts for the national resistance against the Italian and later the German troops.Dimitra Koukiou-Mitropoulou, «''Ο Μέγας Αλέξανδρος του Ρήγα. Προπομπός των εικόνων εθνικής σκοπιμότητος προς ενίσχυση του Λαϊκού φρονήματος''», newspaper “
Η Καθημερινή ''Kathimerini'' (Greek: Η Καθημερινή, pronounced kaθimeriˈni meaning ''The Daily'') is a daily, political and financial morning newspaper published in Athens. Its first edition was printed on September 15, 1919. and it is considered ...
”, Επτά Ημέρες, May 17th 1998, p. 8.


References


Bibliography

* Amantos, K., ''Ανέκδοτα έγγραφα περί Ρήγα Βελεστινλή''. Σύλλογος προς Διάδοσιν Ωφελίμων Βιβλίων. Historical and Folklore Library, No. 7. Athens, 1930. *Daskalakis, Ap., L''es oeuvres de Rhigas Velestinlis'', Paris 1936, *Daskalakis, V., ''Ο Ρήγας Βελεστινλής ως Διδάσκαλος του Γένους''. ΄Εκδοσις νέα μετά συμπληρώσεων και προσθηκών. Athens, 1977. *Gratziou Olga, «''Το Μονόφυλλο του Ρήγα του 1797. Παρατηρήσεις στη νεοελληνική εικονογραφία του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου''», Μνήμων, Athens, 1980. *Kamarianos, N., ''Ρήγας Βελεστινλής, Συμπληρώσεις και διορθώσεις για τη ζωή και το έργο του''. Introduction – Translation – Commentary Ath. Karathanasis, Επιστημονική Εταιρεία Μελέτης Φερών – Βελεστίνου-Ρήγα, Athens 1999. *Koukiou-Mitropoulou, Dimitra, «Ο Μέγας Αλέξανδρος του Ρήγα. Προπομπός των εικόνων εθνικής σκοπιμότητος προς ενίσχυση του Λαϊκού φρονήματος», newspaper “
Η Καθημερινή ''Kathimerini'' (Greek: Η Καθημερινή, pronounced kaθimeriˈni meaning ''The Daily'') is a daily, political and financial morning newspaper published in Athens. Its first edition was printed on September 15, 1919. and it is considered ...
”, Επτά Ημέρες, May 17, 1998. *Koukiou-Mitropoulou, Dimitra, «''Μια εικόνα του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου φιλοτεχνημένη το 1849 στην Αθήνα από τον Ιωάννη Κορωναίο''», Τεκμήρια Ιστορίας. Μονογραφίες, Athens, 2015. *Laios, G., Οι χάρτες του Ρήγα, Αθήνα, ΔΙΕΕ, 1960. *Legrand Em., ''Ανέκδοτα έγγραφα περί Ρήγα Βελεστινλή και των συν αυτώ μαρτυρησάντων. Εκ των εν Βιέννη αρχείων εξαχθέντα και δημοσιευθέντα υπό Αιμιλίου Λεγράνδ''. Μετά μεταφράσεως ελληνικής υπό Σπυρίδωνος Λάμπρου. Athens, 1891. *Vranousis, L. I., ''Ρήγας. Έρευνα, συναγωγή και μελέτη''. Athens, Βασική Βιβλιοθήκη -10. *'' Μεγάλη Ελληνική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια'', Athens, Π. Δρανδάκη, Φοίνιξ, χ.χρ. *''Παγκόσμιο Βιογραφικό Λεξικό'', Athens, Εκδοτική Αθηνών, 1985. *''Ρήγα Βελεστινλή''. Έκθεση αφιερωμένη στα 200 χρόνια από το θάνατό του, Athens, National Historical Museum, 1998. (exhibition catalogue). *''Το όραμα του Ρήγα. Ο Ρήγας στις Παραδουνάβιες Ηγεμονίες''. Exhibition catalogue. Athens, 1998. {{Authority control Modern Greek Enlightenment 1797 prints Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great Rigas Feraios